Excavating apparatus.



.J. w. HENSLEY.

BXGAVATING APPARATUS.

AI PLIGATION FILED MAY 25, 1914.

i 1,133,960. Patented Mar. 30,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Jay

WITNESSES 11v VEN TOR.

J. W. HENSLEY.

EXGAVATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IIILED MAY 25, 191 4.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

JAMES W HEMSLEY.

A TTORNEV UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

- JAMES. w. unusual, or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS.

; ent of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Excavating Apparatus; and

v I do hereby declare'that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like parts. I

The object of this invention is to improve the operation of drag buckets and carriers in excavating mechanism so that the car'- rier may be held by the draft rope in position on the supporting cable and particularly in its elevated position agalnst the stop thereon, while the bucket is dumping, and the bucket be controlled also by the drag rope and be permitted to drop down to its full discharging position. Heretofore in constructions of this kind, when one drag rope has been employed, if it were arranged so as to hold the carrier from traveling backward on the supporting cable, it would prevent the bucket from dropping down to a full discharging position. In other words, the pull required to hold the carrier up would also hold the bucket in a partially upward position. This has been a very serious difficulty in operating such (havices and the object of this invention isvto overcome said difiicult'y by a simple and economical arrangement. With this invention a single draft rope will positively hold the carrier and permit the bucket to drop to the full discharging position and by. reducing the pull on the draft rope, the bucket may be held in such a position as to discharge slowly.. In either event the operator has absolute-control over both the' carriage and thebucket through the one draft rope.

The chief feature of the invention con-.

sists in providing a flexible connection between the forward part of the carrier and the sides of the bucket long enough to permit the bucket to drop down to full discharging position and fasten the draft rope over a pulley traveling independently of the carrier and the cable to a pulley block carrying a pulley over which said flexible connection between the carrier and the bucket passes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flied May 25, 1914 Serial Ito. 840,787.

Patented Mar. so, 1915.

understood from the accompanying drawings, and the following description and claims:

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevatlon of the device in position while loaded and being drawn upward on the supporting cable. Fig. 2 is the same showing the device in full dumping position. Fig. 3 is the same show ng the device in slow dumping positlOIl. Flg. 4 is a front elevation on the line 44 of Big. 3. Fig. 5 is an elevation of a portion of Fig. 4 on a larger scale showing the chain connections.

There is shown herein a usual supporting cable 10 which is stretched over the creek or place from which gravel or sand is being excavated by the drag process and. it inclines upwardly from the load receiving position to the discharging position and has a stop block llvat the discharging position. A carriage 12 consists of two parallel side plates spaced apart and between which the cable 10 extends and wheels 13 are mounted for traveling on the cable.

The excavating bucket 15 is ivoted at 16 to the lower ends of a pair of lateral bars 17 extending down from the rear portion of the carrier 12. A plate 18 extends across the open top of the bucket in position to be engaged by a catch 19fulcrumed at 20 be tween the carrier plates 12 and held in engaging position by a spring 22 and having a bifurcated upper end astride the cable 10 in position to engage the stop block 11 when the carrier is pulled up to the discharging position and be thereby released. \Vhen the latch 19 is released, the forward end of the' bucket, by gravity, drops to the discharging position, as the pivotal mounting 16 is to the rear of the center of gravity of the bucket.

There is a flexible connection between the lower forward end of the carrier and the sides of the bucket. Said connection, as shown herein, consists of an upper chain portion 25 secured at one end to the carrier at 26 and fastened over a pulley 27 in a block 28 connected with a draft rope 29. The chain 25 at its other end is connected by a plate 40 with two side ropes 30 which are secured to links 31 pivoted to the sides of the bucket at 32. The flexible connection, as shown in Fig. 2, is long enough to allow the bucket to drop down in full discharging released and drops by gravity to a substantially vertical discharging position, as shown in Fig. 2, if at the moment the draft rope is yielded somewhat to permit a slight return movement of the pulley 27 to a point under the forward lower corner of the carrier. The draft rope, however, during this retreating movement, is held taut and the weight of the downwardly turning load in the bucket acting on the flexible connection between the bucket and the carrier, holds the carrier up in the position at'which it is stopped and prevents the carrier from'traveling backward down the cable 10. Therefore, the discharging position may always be at a certain point to discharge the material into a single pile or receptacle. however, it be desired to discharge slowly, less retreating movement of the draft rope and pulley 27 is permitted, when the parts will remain in the position shown in Fig. 3, withthe bucket only partially turned to its downward position. At the same time the draft rope prevents the backward movement of the carrier. Therefore, with the single draft rope, the operator can hold the car rier from backward movement and also control the discharge in the bucket, permitting an immediate and sudden discharge or a slow discharge, as desired. When the-bucket is discharged, the draft rope is' released and the carriage travels back as is usual, the

parts being substantially as shown in Fig. 2 while traveling back.

The invention claimed is:

1. Drag bucket excavating mechanism including a carrier, a bucket with its rear portion pivotally mounted thereto, a flexible connection between the forwardportions of the carrier and bucket which permits the bucket to drop to a discharging position, and a draft rope movably connected with said flexible connection, whereby the carrier may be held from retreating during the carrier and loaded the discharge of the bucket and said discharge be controlled..

2. Drag bucket excavating'mechanism including a carrier, a bucket with its rear portion pivotally connected with said carrier, a releasable catch for connecting the forthereon, a bucket with its'rear portion pivto the carrier, a releasable otally connected catch. mountedin the carrier for holding the forward end of said bucket locked to the carrier and arranged to be released by engagement with said" step block, and a draft rope with a pulley on the end thereof adapted to engage and. travel on said flexible connecting means. y

4:. Drag bucket excavating mechanism including a carrier, a bucket with its rear portion pivotally. connected with said carrier, a releasable catch for connecting the forward portions of the bucket with the carrier, a pair of flexible connections between the lower end of said cable and the front end ofthe bucket, a draft rope, and a pulley secured to the draft r0 e and adapted to engage and travel on sai V flexible cable;

5. Drag bucket excavating mechanism including a carrier, abucket with its rear portionpivotally connected" with said carrier, a releasable catch for connecting the forward portions of the bucket wit rier, a pair of flexible connections between the lower end of said cable and. the front end of the bii ket, a draft rope, a pulley secured to the draft rope and adapted to en-' gage and travel on said flexible cable, and a pulley suspended from the supporting cable over which said rope extends.

. In witness whereof, I have hereunto 'aflixed my signature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

JAMEsw. HENSLEY;

Witnesses: I

J. H. WELLS, R. G. Looxwooo.

the cara 

